"Monday, Monday...

so good to me.
Monday, Monday,
it was all I hoped it would be.

Actually, it was Friday and Saturday that were all I hoped they'd be.
One of my goals for Project 2011 was accomplished:
Make plans with my husband to improve our marriage.
On Friday evening and Saturday all day,
we attended this marriage conference at our church:
Cultivating A Thriving Marriage
I should mention that growing together, instead of apart,
is a mutual interest.
I didn't have to twist his arm.
God is answering 20 years' worth of prayers  
as He begins a new work in us
in our empty nest season,
just before grandparenthood.
He is teaching us a deeper meaning of
what it means to be one flesh.
Remember that term from your wedding vows?
Seems so long ago.
Jeepers, it was long ago!

On Friday evening, we sat with 2 other couples, and, over dinner, 

chatted about our first dates, honeymoons and favorite vacations.

.

Did I mention the meal was catered? 

I didn't have to plan it or cook it.  

I wasn't on the committee to set up, serve, or clean up, 

(The youth group did that!)

and there were lemon bars for dessert.

I passed up brownies for lemon bars.

I know!  Crazy me!

Which would you rather have?

My Knight in Shining Armor,

was at my side.

Throw in friends and good food.

The weekend was shaping up to be 

one of the best we've had as a couple 

for a mighty long time.

After dinner, 

Ben and Janet Burns, national speakers at 

Family Life's Weekend to Remember marriage conferences, 

were introduced and spoke with humor and sensitivity about 

the differences between men and women.

Her thoughts:  "Where is our relationship headed?"

His thoughts:  "The car needs and oil change."

I'm certain about this:  
Everyone who reads this has noticed 

this apparent disconnect between the sexes, right?

Right??

Since Friday night was supposed to be a date night,

there was another special treat in store for us:

A local Christian couple, married for 35 years,

Mark Hanson, a Grammy-award winning guitarist,

and his wife, Greta Pedersen, the 2009 Artist of the Year for Young Audiences,

 performed for us.

(You can check out Mark's videos on youtube, too.  I've only linked to one here.)

On Saturday morning, Ben reminded us,

as is usual at each one of the Family Life Conferences we've attended, 

to make these our priorities:
 God first-Vertical relationship
Spouse second-Horizontal relationship

He said he and Janet experience conflict in their marriage.

And so does every other married couple, Christian or not.

Another thing I feel certain about:  
This is not new news.
Is it?

Well, phew! 
The DH and I aren't the only couple in church 
who have some doozies conflict.

They equipped us with useful scripts and methods to use to
work through our conflicts

in God-honoring ways, with love and truth.
Yes, marriage is work.  Every.  Single.  Day.

Everything they shared can be used by newlyweds as well as folks who've been married for decades.

One of the best things about the conference was that many of our friends were there.

When we first met, 17 years ago, we were all raising teenagers

a trying time even if you have "good" kids.

Together, we went through the stops and starts of 

launching them,

only to experience the empty nest.

College/jobs/military service, weddings and/or out-of-wedlock pregnancies, 

and grandparent-hood were next.

By God's grace, we are all still married to the partners of our youth.

It's so encouraging to know that these dear friends 

are still committed to their marriages 

and that they rely on Godly instruction to thrive, together, till death parts them.

Several times during the weekend I wondered,

"How do people get through married life 

without God

and a church family?!"

Thank You, Lord, for the tools we came away with this weekend.

We're so grateful that You will help us learn to use them.

Thanks, too, for our church family with whom we get to share 

the mountain tops and valleys of life here on earth.

Not by might, nor by power,
but by My Spirit, says the LORD...
Who despises the day of small things?
Zechariah 4:6, 10

My God shower His grace, mercy, and peace on you today!

Love, 

Linking up with

Cate at Moments of Whimsy

and for the first time with Drowsy Monkey for

and Danielle for

and Darcy for

and Katie for

and the Latte Lady, Janet for

My Marriage

Thank you, Lord, for my marriage

to the man that You knew,

from eternity past,

would be my perfect mate.

No, my Dear Husband is not perfect.

As Elisabeth Elliot says, "We marry sinners."

That means I am not perfect either.

But by God's grace,

because He first loved us

by sacrificing His Son, Jesus,

to die for our sins, 

He enables us to face the challenges of married life

together

with joy.

Joy is happiness

because of God's love, provision, and protection, 

no matter what

our circumstances are.

I can't even take that all in.

It will take me the rest of my life

to begin to plumb the depths of Love like that!

And thank You for my Dear Husband

who loves me

no matter what;

who fights for our love

against the temptations to walk away

when the going gets tough.

I don't deserve him!

Lord, I pray that You would give me grace to use EVERY interaction with him

to show my love for him

and You.

I want to credit Casondra at Pieces of My Heaven on Earth

for the idea in the paragraph above

and for sharing this song on her website.

God is love...

We love because He first loved us.

1 John 4:16, 19

Place me like a seal over your heart, like a seal on your arm;

for love is as strong as death, its jealousy unyielding as the grave.

It burns like blazing fire, like a mighty flame.

Many waters cannot quench love; rivers cannot sweep it away.

If one were to give all the wealth of one’s house for love,

it would be utterly scorned.

Song of Solomon 8:6-7 (NIV)

Joining with Janet @ Homeward Bound

with Emma @ Toddler Awesome

with Melissa & Tiffany @ Home Grown Families

for their fabulous Friday blog hops.

Hop on over and make some new friends!

Have a blessed day, my friends.

Love, Karen

God Rejoices Over Me!-Day #13 of Thanksgiving

The Lord your God is with you,

He is mighty to save.

He will take great delight in you, 

He will quiet you with His love,

He will rejoice over you with singing.

Zephaniah 3:17

Wow!  Thanks, Lord,

for all the ways

You actively love me!

I need to be grounded in that

because this week I'm facing a big challenge to my weight loss goals.

My scale has only changed 1/2# since my weigh-in last week,

but Julie says to think in terms of

NON-SCALE VICTORIES.

So the verse above is my NSV, my anchor, for this week.

Let me back up just a smidge.

On Saturday, it was meal planning time again,

times 3!

1. My DH and I needed nutritious meals between Saturday and Wednesday night.
2. We are hosting our daughter & SIL and our son and DIL for Thanksgiving.
3. So that means 6 of us will also need meals on Friday and Saturday.

I gathered the usual suspects:

my Weight Watchers' cookbook, my grocery list, pen,

and a pile of recipes.

Panic and confusion hit me.  I couldn't settle down to the task at hand. 

Does that ever happen to you when faced with lots of choices and/or a mountain of work to do? 

Then I asked God for His help, asked Him to quiet me with His love,

to guide my choices.

Guess what?

He  did.

Within an hour, I'd planned 14 meals,

including our Thanksgiving feast,

and all our meals from last Saturday to next Saturday.

Here's what I came up with:

*recipes from Weight Watchers cookbooks

Saturday-Dinner:  Ham Calzones*-the DH loved these so much, we had the leftovers on Sunday night

Sunday-Lunch:  Fried eggs, toast, thick cut ham

             Dinner:  Stuffed Cabbage* [I will make this next Monday]

Monday-Vietnamese Chicken Thighs* and Rice; Green Salad

Tuesday-Shrimp & Pineapple Saute*, Rice, Green Salad

Wednesday-Herb-stuffed Pork Chops*, Green Salad

Thursday-Brined Roast Turkey and all the fixins-I'll try to post our whole menu later gator.

Friday-Breakfast:  scrambled/fried eggs, bacon, toast, cantelope, orange juice

           Lunch:  Deli Ham Sandwiches, Green Salad, fruit

           Dinner:  Turkey Tortellini Soup, Green Salad, French bread

Saturday-Breakfast:  Pioneer Woman's Cinnamon Baked French Toast, sausage patties, fruit, orange juice

               Lunch:  Fajita Beef Tacos (slow-cooker recipe), Green Salad, Refried Beans

                Dinner:  Leftover Beef Tacos and Salad

Sunday-Anyone who is hungry on Sunday will have to cook or take the cook out to eat!

Monday-Dinner:  Stuffed Cabbage*.

I know that our Thursday through Saturday meals are higher in calories/points than usual.

But I can work my point system and I'll be alright.

It's good to have a my Weight Watchers points plan already in place.

How will you navigate this week?

What is your game/meal plan?

I weigh in tomorrow at my Weight Watchers' meeting. 

I'll let you know how I did.

However that goes,

I've got my NSV verse above.

Linking with Annett @  FitMomsFitKids for

and

Blessings on your week!

Love, Karen